[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15145]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                   HONORING SHIRLEE AND TAYLOR GANDY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KAY GRANGER

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 13, 2012

  Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, for the last three years Shirlee and Taylor 
Gandy of Fort Worth, Texas, have dedicated themselves to preserving an 
important piece of both Fort Worth and American history.
  On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy awoke in Fort Worth 
to find thousands of people standing in the cold rain outside his 
hotel.
  The President was in Texas to unify his party leading up to the 1964 
election. That rainy day in Fort Worth, he delivered two speeches. The 
first was delivered to the crowd waiting for him outside the Hotel 
Texas, and the second to the Chamber of Commerce.
  The President greeted the crowd outside, shook hands, and gave a 
short but rousing speech received with excitement by those in 
attendance. He spoke of the progress our nation was making, as well as 
the challenges we faced. He in turn famously challenged the American 
people to bear the burdens of leadership.
  Inside the hotel's ballroom, the President addressed the Chamber 
gathering, speaking of national defense and Fort Worth's historic role 
in the effort.
  He left Fort Worth to a tickertape parade and the words of his final 
two speeches faded quickly in the wake of the tragic events that 
followed. The citizens of Fort Worth, the nation, and the world had 
just heard the final public thoughts of President John F. Kennedy. His 
visit was a triumph and his remarks, as much then as now, bear 
remembering.
  Nearly 50 years after the President's death, Shirlee and Taylor Gandy 
have championed the effort to pay tribute to John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 
his Presidency, and his historic Fort Worth visit.
  The Gandys led the cause, making a generous personal commitment to 
start the project, which includes a completed 8' bronze sculpture of 
the President by Texas artist Lawrence Ludtke.
  They assembled a committee of friends and members of Downtown Fort 
Worth, Inc. to guide the process. But perhaps their most impressive 
contribution to the cause was their time.
  They personally labored over all the painstaking details necessary to 
the project. Their labors were rewarded with a beautiful sculpture, 
handsome tribute design and a successful fundraising campaign. On 
February 27th of this year, the Gandys were joined by Fort Worth and 
Tarrant County dignitaries, including former Speaker of the U.S. House 
of Representatives, Jim Wright, to turn the first shovels of ground on 
this project. The JFK Tribute in Fort Worth will be complete in the 
fall of 2012.
  When the Tribute opens in General Worth Square on Main Street, the 
themes of the Kennedy Presidency will find a new public outlet for 
expression. His last public address and his Fort Worth visit will be 
remembered in bronze and granite.
  And perhaps just as importantly, the warm, genuine, enthusiastic 
reception President Kennedy received in Texas that has been so long 
overshadowed by an act of atrocity, will also be remembered.
  On behalf of the people of Fort Worth, Texas and the United States of 
America, I wish to formally thank Shirlee J. and Taylor Gandy for their 
leadership in the creation of the JFK Tribute in Fort Worth.

                          ____________________